Lily of the Valley
by Chibi Tsuki
Summary: ::ON HOLD:: Four year old Gohan gets dumped on the island by Piccolo and stumbles upon a hidden valley and meets up with an unwanted group or orphans. Major alterings to original plot.
1. Different from Human Kind

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Lily of the Valley

Chibi Tsuki

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A/N: This one revolves more around the Z Warriors than my other attempt so I hope you like it. For those who've read a bit of each, please tell me which one you like better. Also I don't remember the entire conversation at the beginning of the Saiyan Saga so don't accuse me of having the wrong words ok and I haven't seen the episodes in a loonnngggg loonnngggg time and I cut out a few bits and pieces here are there, but it doesn't mean that I'm saying that they're not in the show.

Oh and if you ask why Gohan speaks so much like a ten year old it's because of his 'scholar-like behaviour'.

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Chapter 1

Different from Human Kind

He felt hopeless. He could only stare at the midnight parade high above him in the night sky as he tried his best to remember the past, that single hardened morning.

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~~~Flashback~~~

He felt the warm rays of the sun shining on his face and his father's as the nimbus skimming the ocean's calm, clear surface. The young toddler had just grown into the stage where he would no longer be considered a toddler, but into the stage of early childhood. His nineteen year old father held him tightly as they flew into the sky, the yellow cloud continuing to perform stunts while its passengers sat firmly. Its younger passenger laughed cheerily and whooped until they flipped upside down and turned back the right way again, he had grown a little scared them and cried for a few seconds before grinning happily again.

Son Goku jumped off the nimbus and to the ground, holding his four year old son with his right arm, a reassuring left hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Goku," the bluish-haired figure yelled, dashing out of the house with the baldy came out of the house behind her, followed by others. Gohan didn't follow their conversation, he just looked around curiously at the people around him, especially the old turtle with the funny looking shell. But when the young woman asked him his age he replied timidly, holding four fingers up, his furry brown Saiya-jin tail twitching slightly.

Suddenly, he felt his father's attitude change. He seemed nervous and alert at the same time but Gohan didn't really understand these feelings all that well, he just knew that something was wrong. The young Saiya-jin confirmed that when a tall and muscular figure landed on the island, casting a shadow on him. Bulma quickly grabbed him and held onto him as the cantankerous and calm man neared his father, a massive hand held out. On the other hand, his father held a strong fighting stance, whilst glancing back to see if the beaten baldy had come out from the broken house corner.

As Gohan turned to look at his father again to see a fist launch at Goku's stomach. The young man crashed to the ground on the other end of the island, a few metres from the watery line. His son jerked unexpectedly, away from the confused woman's grasp and toppled towards the injured fighter, crying out a worried, "Da-dee!" 

"Gohan, no!" Goku spluttered, holding a hand up to stop his son from approaching. Instantly, the one who claimed to be Goku's brother grabbed onto Gohan's collar and lifted to young boy up, clutching onto him. He smirked and uttered something before taking off with the crying child him his arms.

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Landing on the seat, Gohan felt himself thrown harshly into the space pod, unable to utter for several seconds before wailing and screaming as loudly as he could without any satisfying results. Due to his exhaustion he soon fell quiet into slumber. By the time he woke up again, he instantly heard a yell of pain through the walls of the mechanism. It was his father, but it couldn't be, his father couldn't be the one suffering the pain. He was too good to be beaten, surely the great Goku couldn't be harmed. But Gohan didn't know that, his childish mind didn't acknowledge that fact until he heard more shouts of agony. 

His little heart was bearing the feeling of helplessness as his ears continued to suffer the inside pain of having to hear his father's cries before breaking down into sobs himself. From out of nowhere, he had an outburst of trapped emotions and leapt up high, breaking through the alloy wall, pulling out the wires and engine pieces apart with force. He made a somersault spin and landed on the ground on both feet. 

With a vindictive glare, Gohan eyed his uncle as if threatening to stay away from his father. At such a young age, Radditz, could call his nephew formidable if it weren't for his earlier act. "I won't let you hurt my daddy!" The sudden shout startled Radditz a bit. But as soon as he took a better look at the boy, his eyes widen as Gohan approached him with a powerful speed, crashing into his armour with an overwhelming headbutt. Shocked, he looked down at the boy and then at his broken armour. He was speechless.

The young and innocent spirit re-entered the boy's body as he staggered to get up and walk to his silent father. "Da-dee?" His words were almost a whisper but it entered Goku's mind, calling him back into reality.

"Get away Gohan!" Goku shouted, unable to move from his position on the ground. He groaned.

"But Da-dee..." the boy's words were cut short as his uncle struck him harshly to the side, causing the young boy to faint...

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He felt cold and shivered as he quickly sprung awake, beginning to cry his soul out once again, but this time in fear. Gohan was sitting in a pool of water, in an insolated place.

"Shut up kid," the stern green man growled, silencing the child.

"Who are you?" Gohan muttered, looked nervously at the human-like form. Besides the fact that he seemed bald and didn't have skin like a human, he was close enough.

"Piccolo." The green guy grunted and let the boy make his way out of water, to the dry grounds, trying his best to get rid of the water in his jacket. Picking up the boy by the garment, Piccolo abruptly threw him directly at a nearby mountain cliff, using a small fraction of his energy just to make sure Gohan reached the place within a short time. But the boy was wailing and screaming as he continued approaching the cliff, raising his hands up against his obstacle. The solid rocks grew bigger and bigger second after second. Gohan yelled. But this time he was confident powerful. An aura surrounded his small body, growing larger and larger. Himself moving faster in speed.

He looked at the explosion with a tinge of disbelief and shook himself to get rid of the repeating imagery. Ending up back near Piccolo, Gohan gawped at the broken mountainside, leaving his mouth agape. "I did that?" It took his some time before he focussed his attention back on the older 'thing'. "When can I go home? And where's my Dad?"

"You father is dead and I'm going to train you to be a fighter. Now stop asking questions and get your take that thing off." 

Obediently, the young Saiyan pulled the saturated garment over his head and slipped his hands out the sleeves. With it folded on the ground, he felt a sudden chill of cold wind and rubbed his arms, trying to warm himself up a little. He only wore a white singlet and that wasn't enough to keep his chubby body warm. "I'm ready Mr Piccolo," he uttered through the chattering of his teeth. "What do I have to do now?"

The Namekian smirked and said, "All you need to do is survive and stay alive." Rising into the air, he grinned, leaving the boy stranded on an isolated island to fend for himself. Seeing his supposedly trainer leave, Gohan started crying after him, running the same direction as Piccolo was. Poor little Gohan could just run and run and run but at the same time, watch as Piccolo's figure vanished into the horizon. Soon he gave up a sat down on a nearby rock to take a short break after brushing the dirt and dust off it that is. A grumble suddenly reminded him that he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and it was already mid-afternoon. He desperately needed something to fill his hunger and where would he be able to find food? Glancing around, Son Gohan could only see rocks, stones, mountains, cliffs, boulders and the unwanted sight of a plain. 

"I wish this never happened, I wish I were home with my mummy and daddy." Tears started streaming down his face as he slowly fell to the ground, landing softly on his rear. Briskly, his eyes were flooded with tears, soaking the dirt ground. A small thought struck his head, _I'm thirsty..._ He slapped his forehead and stood, trudging towards the puddle of water he was thrown in earlier on.

Gohan squatted by the water before going onto his knees and dipping his cupped hands into the pool. He continued to swallow handful after handful, ceasing to stop until he felt that he'd filled enough. There were ripples on the water's surface, growing bigger and bigger. They turned into waves and the waves turned into gigantic splashes as the ground began to shake as well. Somehow this wasn't right. As a massive shadow cast over him, Gohan looked up to find himself being stared at by a hideous beast with razor sharp teeth and claws. Its outer layer was scales, ugly brown scales and a horn spouted from the middle of its snout. Perhaps if he could sneak away quietly as if he was going to do no harm, the dinosaur would leave. But this wasn't the case, it came rampaging after him, licking his thick lips. The word 'terror' was written all over its hide. Dashing about, Gohan ran as fast as his legs could carry him, conscious of the creature behind him was gaining distance.

"Someone save me!" he cried bitterly, just as he crashed onto the earth's surface.

This was his chance to devour the boy. The dinosaur prepared to scoop him up with his huge mouth. He didn't care if there was dirt in his mouth, as long as he got the boy... However he didn't find his hearty meal in his mouth, but instead it had disappeared just like that. He didn't hallucinate, he was definitely gone. Perplexed, he looked around but still couldn't see any kid. Eventually he moved on.

Gohan looked down at the ground, noticing the height from the ground. He even blinked a couple of times just to make sure, but it was real. "How did I get up here? And it's so high..." Without hesitation, he moved backwards, away from the edge of the. On the top of the disfigured mountain was a flat surface with a couple of rocks sticking up here and there which Gohan used as a leaning post. Earlier on he had worn himself out with the charge at Radditz and then there was the dinosaur. Within seconds he was fast asleep, huddled in a little ball with his tail wrapping around his waist to warm his body up a little.

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~~~End Flashback~~~

Young Gohan had just finished devouring two apples like a pig, although it still wouldn't satisfy his daily hunger. With a yawn he looked up at the light that shone on him brightly. It was the full moon grinning at him as if sending him messages through its rays. He had his full attention on the round globe, gazing into it deeply. Suddenly his whole body grew bigger and his teeth transformed into fangs. His pure, innocent eyes had changed into red bloodthirsty eyes. Both hands had become monkey-like hands with sharp black nails and the same went for his feet. Covered with dark-coloured fur, his body differed from his original state by size and texture. 

His conscience had left him while his oozaru form rampaged the island, breaking any cliffs and rocks in his way.

Early in next morning, the young Saiya-jin finally woke up, his head facing a bunch of weeds. He didn't know what had happened the night before. As he tried to stand up, he felt himself wearing heavy, stiff clothes. Slowly he looked down, noticing a clean, new, orange gi just like his father's and his heavyweight boots. He even wore the same type of inner garment but until now did he realise how heavy it was. Something felt wrong, but the young Saiya-jin didn't notice what was different and lay off the thought. 

Beside him was an amazingly cool sword. Gohan suspected it was his, if not why was it there in the first place? With robotic-like movement, Gohan picked it up and walked over to a nearby lake. Hurriedly, he washed his face with water and took a couple of mouthfuls of it before searching around for edible items. _If there are trees and bushes then there should be food._

Breathing in the fresh air, he caught a nice-smelling scent. It smelt like the sweet smell of flowers... _Flowers? Then there maybe plants._ Without another thought, he set off after the gracious scent, following through narrow pathways and tight holes. The smell seemed to be luring him away or was it just too inviting? 

As he reached a cliff edge, he looked down below, noticing greens everywhere, but strangely it was formed in a pattern. On the inside was a full circle, of trees and then there was a wide empty space surrounding it before there was another space and then around that was a circle of trees. He also heard the gushing sound of a nearby waterfall. This place was like a paradise, the high mountains and cliff walls kept the enemies out and down the bottom was everything one needed to live on, of course there were times you needed several books. That was what his youthful mind thought of, the simple necessities in life. 

Eventually he snapped out of it and became searching for a proper or simpler way to get down the four hundred metre wall safely. He gulped. "It's too high up!" But he couldn't back out now, he'd come all this way to search for a suitable to stay until the time came for Piccolo to train him. Noticing a very narrow pathway a few metres away, he gingerly walked towards it, securing his sheath's strap over his head. It was very narrow indeed, too narrow in fact. He could only fit his two feet side by side and not even a bit more.

"Oi! What are you doing!" a voice behind him demanded. The sudden yell causing him to lose his stability before plunging down the rocky wall. His clothes scratched harshly against the rocks that stuck out at the side, scraping at his skin as he fell pass them. A pair of hands waved wildly above his head, desperately feeling for something to hold. He had his eyes squeezed shut and his face bore a frown, keep the air pressure outside.

Gohan felt himself crash into something hard, woody and solid. From what he felt, it seemed like something had broken his fall. Nervously he opened his eyes and glanced around, noticing patches of green and lime-coloured leaves. He was safely supported by a tree, although his rear ached a little.

"Hey come down it's ok," the voice uttered again. It was a soft, cute and cheery voice.

"Huh?" Gohan looked down, noticing a youngster with spiky dark hair looking up at him. From the look of the kid's face, Gohan confirmed that it was a girl, easily distinguished by those big and bulbous eyes. A sort of shine in them.

"You're only two metres up. Just jump down."

Perhaps it was easy, he was sure he could easily make it down there. But really for a four year old, dropping two times his height was a big deal. He swung his legs to one side of the thick branch and closed his eyes, afraid to see how was the ground was. Gohan let go of the branch and dropped. His two feet landing hard on the rocky surface below. With a big smile on his face, he opened his eyes and looked at the stranger. Taking a step forward, he suddenly slipped, knocking his head on a boulder. Instantly he passed out.

The young girl was watching the whole incident and quickly put a hand to her mouth as he fell out of balance. "I forgot about my banana peel..." She sat the boy up and flicked him a few times on his face with her fingers, realising the boy had fainted. Pulling him over her back, she gave the boy a piggy back ride and brought him into the deeper part of the forest, through to the forest of 'Lily of the Valley' trees.

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His limbs twitched a little before his eyes opened to survey the place around him. "Oww... It feels as if I've been hit by a bull or something," Gohan shook his head and growled, placing a hand over his warm forehead.

"He's coming about!" 

A tall figure stood over him, inspecting him properly. He watched as Gohan sat up, looking cluelessly at a group of people, not knowing what to say.

"Tepin, can we keep him?" a shorter figure asked in a bright tone, addressing the leader. Gohan counted all of the shadowed figures, altogether there were five. 

The tallest figure spoke again, "He's not one of us, he'll leave this place." He seemed to be the leader of the gang by the way he spoke and the strong tone.

Another voice spoke, it was a voice of a girl, not the girl he had met earlier on but an older girl. "Then we'll erase his memory. Aapri, bring me the the potion." One of the smaller figures left obediently, leaving the small crowd.

For a second, Gohan felt his nervousness disappear as he spoke up. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"That's what 'we're' meant to ask ya," the leader said in displeasure.

"I'm Son Gohan and I followed the smell of flowers and got to the cliff then I fell and bumped my head."

"The smell of the Lily of the Valley... That's what everyone says but no one makes it out there with the knowledge of us being here. Aapri, have ya got it?"

"Wait, just tell me why you're doing this?"

"Why? Human kind drove us away from their world onto this isolated world in the first place becoz we're different to them. We're not as pure and human-like as they are and ya one of them."

Gohan looked at him and growled, "I can't see why you're so different to humans! Just tell me why you're not the same?"

"We have alien blood and we have... tails." As he spoke, Gohan could hear the bitterness and anger in his voice.

"A tail? I have a tail too!" He turned around and patted his rear. Suddenly his eyes widened and as he frantically searched for his missing tail. "My tail..."

"You are pathetic kid, if ya had a tail, ya got it cut off by someone. Without ya tail you can survive in the human world. If ya didn't have a tail there's no point continuing to fake it becoz either way, ya leaving our valley."

"Then why didn't you get your tail cut off if you could live with humans?"

"Becoz our tails are our pride and a reminder to who we really are."

[inserts INfamous words] To be continued...

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How's that for a story? Well there will be some slang here and there because not everyone speaks perfectly. And people with more tails? How did they get there??? Yeah I know what the heck and I doing writing DBZ when I'm meant to be finishing the last chapter of my GW story? Oh well... I'll get a start on that now...

Oh and please excuse me from using improper spelling on fairly frequent basis, eg. b_ecoz_ and _ya_ Maybe I should rate this PG-13 for spelling mistakes, just in case the kiddies catch a bad habit… 

Until next time, Ja ne ^^


	2. Trials

**Lily of the Valley**

Chibi Tsuki

**_A/N:__ Thanks for being my first decent reviewers Ryoko-onee and Deanine! I'm very grateful that I've got an audience even if it's small ^^ I also revised chapter 1 but the word's are still the same it's just that I just did a little format editing._**

_Oh and I forgot my Disclaimer last time!!! *gulp* So my present disclaimer goes for both my chapters 2 and 1. I repeat 2 **and** 1._

_Disclaimer: If I owned DB/Z/GT then I wouldn't be publishing my stories here, I'd be getting people to design a whole new saga and besides I wouldn't have altered the originals in the first place. In other words, for those who are too thick, I **don't** own DB/Z/GT._

**Chapter 2**

Trials

A shorter figure handed a bottle of liquid over to Tepin's. All Gohan could see was darkened figures with bright sunrays behind. "Taluu, feed him the liquid and make sure he drinks every last drop," Tepin's voice made his insides shiver and quake.

Gohan gulped as the other tall figure walked over to him. He noticed that it was a girl approaching, he could see by the way her long hair was neatly tied into a plait and she walked with the perfect posture. 

"Where can I go after you give me that stuff? I'll just wander back here and then you'll waste your stuff on me again and again. I'll be stuck on this island without a home..."

"Shut up kid," he growled, looking at the boy with the teary eyes.

"Tepin, I really do think he's got a point," the girl stopped and muttered, facing her leader. "He'll only come back. Besides, he's only a kid, where will he stay during all that time?" Gohan noticed her gentle voice wavering a little as if she were afraid to say what she had just said.

No one spoke for a period of time, until the leader himself softened his stern face in a slightly sympathizing look. Suddenly a voice spoke up, "Tepin, please. Maybe he'll be a fighting partner for me." It sounded familiar, like he'd heard that voice before. Gohan remembered, it was the voice of the girl he'd seen earlier, the one who told him to jump out of the tree. "I'm sure he can fight. He fell off the cliffs and he's still alive."

He was in a hard position, his instincts told him to set the boy back into the human world but his two comrades wanted the boy to stay and the boy did have a point. With a soft grunt, Tepin nodded his head in agreement to the suggested conclusion and turned his gaze on the fluffy white clouds in the sky. "Before I let ya stay permanently, ya on a trail. Ya must oblige to the rules we have 'ere. Firstly ya gotta do ya chores each day, stay outta trouble and stay must not venture into anyone else's sleepin' quarters. Most importantly, ya must not lead anyone into this valley. Understood?" 

"Yessir!" Gohan smiled, standing up to salute at his new comrades.

"Wait Kebs, he's under ya wing for the time being until I see him good enough to stay permanently." 

"Right, Tepin," a voice muttered.

"Taluu, write down the list of chores and times and give it to Kebs, from there he can take it on. Now spread!" Everyone scattered of out sight within seconds, each and everyone doing their own chores and work.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Kebs questioned, walking over to the shorter boy and surveying his appearances. "Gohan."

"My name's Kebs, our leader is Tepin and the older girl was Taluu. There's also Zzuka and Aapri. Altogether there were five of us, now there's six, including you," the Kebs muttered, leading the younger boy out of the area. 

Gohan stopped and looked up at the eight year old, giving him a questioning glance. "Can I get my sword first?" Kebs was much taller than he and was also much nicer than Tepin. 

"You won't be getting the sword yet, maybe later in the week. Let's get you started with work. We'll be having lunch shortly and you're going to be fetching water from the stream." The older boy looked at the note Taluu had quickly scribbled and given to him. "C'mon, I'll show you how to get the water."

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Gohan inhaled the smell of food as he pulled the last bucket of water up to the dining area through to the kitchen. The gang's living area was rather civilised compared to the cave men at the beginning of time. Each sleeping, working and studying quarter had steady bamboo built walls and neatly cut wood planks for the floor board, polished with a type of wax on type to avoid splinters when walking. The rooftops were built with several thick wooden poles that were sustained by the top of the bamboo wall and gathered at the single wooden pillar at the middle of the room. Quite frankly, the pillar looked more like a tree than anything else. On top of the wooden poles were giant leaves that covered the entire room from the rain and morning dew. But sunlight seeped through the windows in the bamboo walls. To avoid rain from flooding in through the windows, they used leave-knit blinds that easily rolled down when you pulled the cord on the side.

Heaving the bucket up onto a stool, Gohan tipped the bucket over so the water would flow into the water tub. Once the bucket was emptied, he placed it to the side and quickly pulled the tub lid back on to avoid bacteria and insects plaguing the water. He breathed out and ran over to the others, waiting patiently for Tepin to tell him where to seat. 

Gohan blinked a couple of times, seeing all the food on the table. No wonder the dining table could fit at least eight people. There were stacks of food, enough to feed at least twenty grown men. He remembered how much his father used to eat, about fifteen or so many bowls of rice and a couple plates of meat and vegies. But there were about twenty plates of meat and vegies and other stuff and everyone had their own large bowl of rice. But he didn't stare for long, his little stomach was growling terribly after carrying up all that water. 

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With a satisfied grin, the young Saiya-jin lazed in his seat and watched as the others feasted hungrily. This was the first time he saw Tepin's features properly. The older boy had dark brownish hair that spiked all over the place with a several long bangs that would hang over parts of his face if it weren't for the piece of dark blue cloth tied over his forehead. His skin was tanned and his dark green eyes seemed focussed and troubled. Gohan noticed the hint of muscles on the older boy because he was wearing a loose blue T-shirt with very short sleeves. But the T-shirt seemed tighter near his waist, perhaps he wore a belt or something, whatever it was Gohan couldn't see. The older boy had two bandaged arms. Although the bandage itself was tattered and torn a bit, it was wrapped around the boy's lower Brachium biceps [1], wrists, palms and knuckles. They even had tough ropes coiled around just to secure the bandages. 

He looked at the girl sitting next to him, she was really pretty and had long blonde hair tied into a plait. She was the one who was going to give him that brainwashing stuff but she stopped at reasoned with Tepin. Her sparkling cobalt blue eyes shone like stars in the night sky, Gohan liked her, she seemed really nice. Earlier on Aapri had mentioned her name… it was Taluu. The calm and serene Taluu, who wore the orange bandana, fancy sleeveless top and wristbands. What was with wristbands and bandages? Basically everyone was wearing them. 

Sitting opposite him was the other boy who looked slightly younger than Kebs. He had wild hair just like Gohan's father and he wore a black sleeveless with a loose and floppy white pull-on piece of fabric that gathered together at the bottom, creating lots of creases and folds. At the back, it reached pass his shoulder blades, with as many folds as there were in the front. Strangely, he wore a thick bandage on his arm, without ropes or torn pieces but it didn't wrap around his knuckles or palm. It just ended at his wrist and the upper half of his Brachium biceps. But Gohan had forgotten his name, well no one really introduced him to the entire gang so it wasn't his fault.

Glancing to his right, Gohan studied to facial features of Kebs who sat beside him. This youth seemed different to the rest of the group, he had long pointy ears and most unusually coloured hair which Gohan didn't take any notice before. He had cropped green hair a few orange streaks and a few strands of loose hair sticking out but other than that he didn't have a proper fringe. Even his nose was pointer than everyone else's but he did wear clothes similar to the boy across the table. Gohan decided that Kebs was the wild type, the one that didn't care much for his messy hair and clothes.

On the other side of Kebs was the girl that Gohan had seen earlier on but he didn't catch a glimpse of her face or what she wore, big old Kebs was blocking the vision, thus making it very difficult to see her. Besides, everyone had already finished eating and they seemed to be ready to pack up and start working again. Gohan picked up his bowl and brought it over to the small washing bay, scrubbed the bowl lightly with a damp old rag and dipped it into the tub of clean water before starting another process of drying it up. He smiled slightly as he put his few utensils back into the cupboard with the others. "Oi, Gohan next job for you," Kebs yelled approaching the boy with a friendly smile plastered over his face. Gohan looked up and toddled over to him. "Hey, can you perform Ki blasts?"

"What's a Ki blast?" He questioned, his eyes conveying a confused expression. 

"Hm… guess you don't know." He scratched his head while trying to think of a suitable explanation. 

Suddenly a voice spoke up, "It's when you shoot these coloured balls of energy that can harm even the toughest rock." Gohan turned around to face a bright eyed girl with dark, dark bluish-purple hair. It was the girl he had seen earlier on when he jumped off the tree. 

"I remember being thrown into a mountain yesterday but when I looked up again I saw that it had disappeared," he stated still unsure what exactly was a Ki blast. 

Kebs pondered for a second before speaking, "That's not a Ki blast but instead a Ki force you used to break the rocks."

"I kind of understand what Ki is now… but how do I use it?"

"Well you er…" 

The girl waved her hand and walked to the door, placing her hand on the pole. "I'll guard now while you teach him." She smiled sweetly and disappeared quickly enough into the air, like the way Piccolo had. 

"C'mon Gohan, let's go battle." He jumped through the window and down to the cleared area below, his feet landing steadily onto the grassy floor. Gohan squeezed his eyes shut and followed suit but instead, landed on his rear end, injuring what happened to be the stump of his tail. Rubbing his bottom, the young Saiya-jin lifted himself up and patted away the dirt. "Nice try but you need more practise. Alright, let's start now." 

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The girl looked down at the training couple while perched at the tip of the lookout that was easily camouflaged by the Lily of the Valley plants around them. Gohan seemed to be concentrating hard on producing the glow of light they used as their weapons. Lying stilly in her hands was a soft leather covered book bounded with old metal rings, opened at the middle. She was supposed to be reading this beginner's novel to increase her knowledge the way Tepin wanted them to so that they would actually know the world around them and be successful in education even though he lacked knowledge himself. Mentally she slapped herself and continued reading, her finger following the large prints that made up the word 'banana'. She stumbled across the words with a little difficultly. But eventually memorised the variety of given alphabetical letters. 

Suddenly the wind blew harshly against her body as she felt a surge of Ki rising. Her sharp and keen eyes were listening for the suspicious sounds that may appear to be a threat to her small family. She shifted her position and slowly stood up, still clutching onto the leather book. The Ki kept rising and rising until she had felt that it was definitely a signal of attackers. Leaping off the small point, she flew into the air, chucking her book into the lookout before going away in search of the mysterious force. With a few seconds, she was at the cliff top but the energy had already died away, totally vanishing within seconds. Whatever it was, it was a strong force and she didn't want to let her home be in peril. Since she had lost the only way of finding the mysterious Ki, she left the edges back to the lookout while observing Gohan's improvements but keeping a watchful eye the whole time.

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Stretching his limbs, he yawned before glancing at the scene around him. He was inside a small hut-like house with a lantern beside him with the unlit candle lying motionlessly in the lantern. With a small surge of Ki, the candle burst into flames that flickered dangerously. Something didn't feel right, he looked at the window, noticing the appearance of early dawn as a small burst of rays made its way over the horizon, namely trees. A glow of light burst into the dark sky, literally lighting the area with light before disappearing in an instance. _What's happening? Jumping out of his thin blankets, he raced to the window and looked outside, unable to visibly see anyone but he could feel it. As he performed an imperfect jump out of the window, he realised that he'd landed onto a spiky bush as his tender skin touched the points of the plant. But he had enough strength to keep himself from yelling out aloud. Another burst of light rocketed into the sky and disappeared after a short moment. Were they Ki blasts? _

Making his way through the small forest, he pushed apart the plants, hacking away the thicker parts with his bare hands, scratching at his flesh. But he continued through until he reached the area where Kebs had been training him that afternoon and watched as he saw three shadows sparring dangerously, aiming disastrous Ki blasts at one another. Who were they? Several hundred metres away was a different couple sparring even more dangerously than the trio. He could hear their fists connecting and the growls produced. From out of no where, a blast was fired straight at him as he unexpectedly gave out a yelp and lifted his arms up the way Kebs had taught him when blocking energy balls. The fighting had stopped instantly and instead, he could feel their Ki approaching him. Until he saw the tallest one's figure which he recognised as being the same as Tepin's, he relaxed a little but continued to stay silent. 

"Gohan, wanna join us for a spar?" he registered that as Kebs' voice. Grateful young Kebs with spunky hair that totally looked unorthodox for a normal Earth citizen, just like Piccolo but that was a different case. The youngster nodded his head casually and waited for further instructions. "You can spar with Zzuka. Tepin shall we continue until the sun comes out fully?" Tepin gave no drastic approval but Kebs had easily picked up the answer anyway. "So until the sun comes up." The others separated themselves, all except another member of the gang that was slightly shorter than him. She looked up at him before turning away, leading him to an empty patch of land where she stood still while Gohan positioned himself. 

Launching himself at her, he ran at an uneven pace and leapt. Only to land harshly at the ground. He felt a kick at his side and rolled over from the force. Before he could regather his strength, he was already pinned down by his opponent. But the girl just let him go, knowing that he was rather weak for a proper fight. "Gohan, you need to use them thinga-ma-bobbies," she stopped, searching for the word.

"What? Eyes?" He questioned.

"No."

"Ears?"

"No."

"Fists?"

"No, no, no."

"Senses?"

"Yeah, that's it. Senses. Now use your senses to listen around you and use your mind to feel for the upcoming attacks."

"How'd you do that?"

"A easy way to do that is to close your eyes and use your ears and senses because they guide you someway or another."

"It's an easy way, not a easy way."

"Oops. How'd you know? Are you like really smart?"

"I don't know what you would call smart but my mother wants me to be a scholar and become really good at science and maths and generally everything I guess."

"Oh… Maybe you could teach me something. Tepin wants us to learn how to write and talk properly. You can teach me what you've learn."

"It's learnt."

"What's the difference?"

"Learnt is past and learn is present."

"Oh… so what does that mean?"

********************

Gohan smiled after a full day of successful training and there was another thing to rejoice about, he had actually met some of his own friends. Not his dad's but his own friends. Taluu, the pretty girl who was around Tepin's age had forced them to take a shower that morning, after stinking the out the hut especially since she and Zzuka were clean. Grumpily, Tepin stalked down to a small lake that lay a good fifty metres away from their main water supply. From what it seemed, it looked as if it were man-made or in this case; blasted by energy balls. It was spacious enough to fit several huts so there was no worry that they'd get squashed by one another. Gohan stood at the edge of the lake as the others started filling the area with more water until it was flooded and of course it only took them less than a minute to gill it up. They started stripping down to their trunks, throwing their extra weights away, scattering across the dirt covered floor. "What ya waiting for kid?" Tepin asked gleefully as he resurfaced. It was actually the first time he had noticed Tepin speak this way, friendly and gentle. The oldest boy gestured for him to enter the water. 

This was an offer was couldn't refuse. Either way he would have to bathe so he took off his grotty gi and chucked the heavy weights to the ground just like the way the other three had. "You bear weights too? I'm surprised Gohan," Kebs muttered in a partially astonished expression but soon enough he recovered. With a bomb dive, Gohan broke through the water's surface and landed at the bottom of the lake floor, taking a while to resurface. 

"Impressive," Tepin uttered and rested his arms on the edge of the ground. "I don't think we're gonna to be able to go without soap. Taluu will most likely be afta our butts. Oi, kid, Zzuka told me that ya pretty smart. Ya wanna help us to improve?"

Gohan was silent for a minute before uneasily accepting the challenge. Helping Tepin might prove to be a little problem but surely he would be able to be corrected wouldn't he? He sighed softly to himself and smiled with the knowledge of knowing that he was beginning to be accepted and more or the less feel like he was beginning to belong there.

********************

**_A/N:__ How was that pplz? Hm… I know it took about 4 million months before I got this chapter up. I'm bad… Very bad… But I've been trying to zoom through a chapter each time so plz forgive me. And I can't  be certain when the next chapter is due but I promise that I'll keep typing and writing.- Just remember to review!!!_**


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